The power of
influence and indestructibility of the Bible is seen in the
following illustration:

The Blacksmith’s
Anvil and the Bible

In the late nineteenth century, a
young farm boy traveled to town for the first time. As the boy
walked with his father down the unpaved main street, he heard a
loud clang ... clang ... clang.

"What's that?" he asked his
father.

His father said, "Come, I'll show
you," and took the boy to the door of the blacksmith's shop.
There the boy saw a huge man lifting a big, heavy hammer high in
the air, as if to chop down a tree, and then crashing it down on
a glowing piece of metal on top of the anvil. The man hit the
anvil so hard that it made the boy wince. The boy's father
explained to him that the blacksmith made all kinds of metal
pieces for wagons, carriages, plows, and tools.

But the little boy was fixed on
two things: the heavy hammer and the great metal anvil. They met
each other with such a loud sound and with such force that the
boy thought surely the anvil could not last long. The big,
strong blacksmith paused for a moment to catch his breath, and
saw the boy standing in the doorway.

"Aren't you going to break that
thing?" the boy asked, pointing at the anvil.

The blacksmith smiled and said,
"This anvil is a hundred years old and has worn out many
hammers."

Likewise, the Bible is an anvil
that has worn out a thousand hammers. In every generation, new
heavy "hammers" are forged against the truth of the Bible.
Strong men and women use these hammers to pound on the
Scriptures. People with no historical perspective--like little
boys who've never been to town--see it and say, "Surely the
Bible will be destroyed." But others who know their history a
little better say, "This Bible was forged in the furnace of
divine truth and has worn out many hammers."

Discussion:

I.THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE:

A.The Bible's influence is seen in literature, speeches,
civil laws, politics, and art.

1.Many nations, including the United States, have based
much of their laws upon the civil laws found in the Bible,
especially those recorded in the Old Testament. Nations that do
not do this tend to be barbaric.

2.Politicians and others who make speeches often quote
scripture or refer to it.

3.Noted artist, in the various fields of art, have been
influenced by the Bible in producing their art.

B.Prominent men and women of our nation and from other
nations have acknowledged the influence of the Bible in their
lives.

Abraham
Lincoln: “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever
given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is
communicated to us through this book.”

George
Washington: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world
without God and the Bible.”

John Quincy
Adams: “So great is my veneration for the Bible that the
earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be
my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country
and respectable members of society. I have for many years made
it a practice to read through the Bible once every year.”

Napoleon:
“The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a
power that conquers all that opposes it.”

Queen
Victoria: “That book accounts for the supremacy of
England.”

Daniel
Webster: “If there is anything in my thoughts or style to
commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an
early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles
taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to
prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions
and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may
overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”

C.The influence the Bible is seen in the following:

1.It affects our manner of thinking.

Phil. 4:8,
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things.”

a.Our philosophy in life is developed by that in
which we meditate upon.

Prov. 23:7,
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he;…”

2.The Bible affects the standard of our society.

Titus
2:11-12, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world;”

3.The Bible convicts sinners of their sins.

Acts 2:36-38,
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in
their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the
apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said
unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

II.THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE BIBLE:

A.Even before the creation of the physical universe, God’s
scheme of redemption for lost humanity was in His mind.

Eph. 3:8-12,
“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and
powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which
he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness
and access with confidence by the faith of him.”

1.God’s will is that the church would make known His
manifold wisdom in providing salvation for man.

1 Tim. 3:15,
“…the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.”

B.It would be ludicrous for a person to question as to
whether or not God’s inspired Word has been preserved for future
generation while at the same time acknowledging that the
Heavenly Father’s scheme of redemption was predetermined before
the foundation of the world.

Prov. 3:5-6,
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

1.Question: How is the Lord to direct our path if we no
longer have access to His inspired Word to guide us?

John 12:48,
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one
that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day.”

III.SOMEONE MIGHT SAY, “BUT WHAT WAS THE PROCESS BY WHICH IT
ACTUALLY CAME DOWN TO US?”

A.First of all, it has come down to us in marvelous
manuscript, precious documents that date back to an early age.

1.There are several of these manuscripts, three in
particular. These are the Alexandrian, the Vatican,
and the Tischendorf.

a.The oldest of these date back to about 200 A. D. This is
less than 200 years from the time that Christ lived here upon
earth.

b.Someone might say, “That’s an old document, but it does
not go back to the apostolic age.”

B.Fortunately, we can get back closer, because in addition
to the manuscripts are the versions.

1.A manuscript is a document containing the New
Testament in Greek, the language in which it was originally
written.

2.A version is a translation into some other
language from the Greek original text. Bear in mind that
inspiration was originally in men. While in men, they had to be
miraculously endowed in order that it might be taught to people
of other tongues. If those early preachers had been required to
attend language schools and study how to talk in other
languages, multitudes of people would have died while the
preachers were learning their tongue. So, the Lord simply
endowed them with miraculous ability to speak in these other
languages.

3.Some of those old languages still exist or some of those
old translations in other languages.

4.The Ethiopic version is still being used by
Ethiopians. It dates back to the apostolic age.

5.The old Syriac version was written about 120 A.
D. This is about a quarter of a century removed from the era of
the apostles.

C.Well suppose we lost the manuscripts and the versions.
Would we have lost the New Testament? No! We can get back
still closer through the writings of the so-called church
fathers, such as Cyprian, Polycarp, Clement of Alexander, and a
host of others.

1.These writings begin about 70 A. D., well within the
apostolic age and continue down to about 324 to 325 A. D.

2.Those writings are uninspired writings, but the
remarkable things about them are that they contain all of the
New Testament but thirteen verses.

D.Even if we lost the manuscripts, versions, and the
writings of the church fathers, the Word of God has been
reproduced in the various writings produced since the first
century.

(The material
pertaining to the process in which the scriptures came down to
us was obtained from a sermon of the late brother Guy N. Woods.)

IV.THERE HAVE BEEN MANY EFFORTS TO DESTROY THE BIBLE AND ITS
INFLUENCE.

A.Efforts to destroy the Bible have been both by the
religious and the

nonreligious.

1.Recorded in the Old Testament, King Jehoiakim cut
out and burned portions of the inspired Word. He rejected that
within it that required his strict obedience unto God.

Jer. 36:23,
“And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four
leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire
that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the
fire that was on the hearth.”

2.William Tyndale was a theologian and scholar who
translated the Bible into an early form of Modern English. He
was the first person to take advantage of Gutenberg’s
movable-type press for the purpose of printing the scriptures in
the English language. He was considered a heretic by the
Catholic Church, and later by the Church of England.
Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536 and copies of his
English translated version of the Bible were burned.

3.In the mid-1700’s Voltaire, one of the most
influential writers of his day, held a copy of the Bible in his
hand and stated that within 100 years from his time,
Christianity would be “swept from existence and pass into the
dust bin of History.” However, 50 years after his death, the
Geneva Bible Society bought his house and printing press to
print and distribute thousands of Bibles.

4.Thomas Paine was a deist who rejected the Bible
and attempted to depict error in it in his book, “The Age of
Reason.”

5.Robert Ingersoll during the 19th
century popularized the theories of Charles Darwin. He
was a leader among atheist and spoke out against God and His
inspired Word, the Bible.

B.Books written by uninspired men rise and fall with
respect of public acceptance, but the Bible continues to be a
best seller.

1.Other books are revised or become obsolete, but God’s
inspired Book remains as relevant today as it was when written
by inspiration.

2.It has been translated many times, but never revised.

Conclusion:

Jesus depicted
the kingdom of Heaven as a pearl of great price (Matt.
13:45-46). That passage states: “Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who
when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all
that he had, and bought it.” Since the seed of His kingdom
is the Word of God (Lk. 8:11), we must place our trust in it
above creeds, doctrines, and the philosophies of men.

The Bible

The Bible
contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of
salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.
Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories
are true, and its decisions are immutable.

Read
it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be
holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and
comfort to cheer you.

It
is a traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass,
the soldier's sword, and the children's charter. Here Paradise
is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is the grand subject, our good the design, and the glory
of God its end.

It
should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.
Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of
wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is
given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be
remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility,
will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle
with its sacred contents.